One Star To the Next
by GeneFivePoints
Summary: With his overwhelming popularity in the meme community, one would think Shaggy would let the attention get to his head. Contrary to popular belief, Shaggy desires a break from it all. However, an ordinary spar turned to tragedy sets him on one final quest.(Scooby-Doo, Fire Emblem, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Shrek, & many more. Rated M for excessive swearing in later chapters.)


Author's Notes

This story is a compilation of several different franchises and their respective memes. This serves as a gift/request to a friend of mine that wanted to see this happen, though it has been delayed several times so it could be in "top shape". I'm going to be honest, even though I still have been writing stories and fanfics for quite sometime, this is the first one that I have posted in a really long time. The last fanfic I remember posting on this site was a Sonic piece that I worked on during my middle school years. It may be somewhere in the archives, but as that one was on a different account of mine(one that I have long forgotten), it's pretty much lost to me. I will be updating this story every now and then, as I am currently working on my own novel series as well as another crossover fanfiction alongside this one. With that being said, I hope you enjoy this

* * *

One Star To The Next

Chapter One – A Desire For an Epilogue

A lone room. Nothing but dust covers the floor tiles in this space. Packing material is carelessly strewn about, making the chamber look akin to a scruffy, abandoned closet. The only source of light emits from a slight glow of a swaying lightbulb, its movement reminiscent of a pendulum. It does an exceptional job in hiding an ominous presence in the shadows. A mystery on its own to be sure, but to one certain creature is the tool they need for absolute destruction of all things known to man and meme. Suddenly a door materializes upon one of the walls, and on the other side comes the very being that seeks this presence's power. The figure is hard to make out and only speaks one sentence in a low tone:

"I'll do it myself…"

* * *

It has been eons since these two legends have met face to face. The tension in the air spikes up as the two combatants look at each other in anticipation. Shaggy gazes at his unfit rival, Robbie Rotten, from the other side of their personalized arena up on the mountains. Rotten has his left hand on his hip as he stands in a pose looking awfully familiar to that of Waluigi, one of the more well-known tricksters in all of memedom. Or perhaps the pose was more reminiscent to Jotaro from JoJo? Did Shaggy really care in the grand scheme of things? … No, not really. Shaggy couldn't see his face, but he could tell that Rotten has a mischievous smirk plastered on it. Shaggy chuckles to himself, relishing in his friend's overconfidence as he looks forward to yet another fierce battle. He also notices his pal Scooby-Doo sitting a few feet away from him. Scoobs has always been there for him, and he wouldn't know what to do without his dear friend. He briefly takes a moment out of the battle preparations to reminisce in his current environment.

He looks around with nostalgia in his mind as he recollects the several landmarks in his surroundings. The Boulevard of Broken Memes looks as dank as ever from the mountain top. Restaurants can be seen plastered all over the area, consisting of diets centered on chicken nuggets, potatoes, and spaghet. This place doesn't shy away from the trendier additions though, as Big Chungus and Ugandan Knuckles can still be considered invaders of the culture. Overall, it's a dank place to spend time in, though the common-day festivities have been brought to an early close due to an impending storm. To his far right, Shaggy sees the popular tourist location, Mount Rushmeme. It depicts four of the dankest gods in all existence: Phil Swift, SpongeBob SquarePants, Thanos, and Pepe the Frog. Each face stands at 69 feet high, and the width of the whole sculpture is 420 feet. Shaggy begins to recall the reasoning as to why these four are renowned as gods in the first place. Phil Swift has always been a stellar salesman and his super strong adhesive tape is known worldwide to patch, bond, seal, and repair any sort of major damage. Swift currently resides in his kingdom of Flex World, where he currently works on his top-secret project. Shaggy considers himself blessed to have knowledge of this certain operation, as the only other soul to be aware of it in its entirety is Jon Jafari, formerly known as JonTron. SpongeBob SquarePants is widely considered to be the primary bounty hunter for all everlasting memes. Despite his presence being on the borderline of old-school, his contributions to the meme community have led to quite the cornerstone and is considered the derivative for all future entries in the art. Thanos was solely responsible for one of the biggest surges of memorable quotes that would be remembered long after the craze of Infinity War died out. Just thinking of it made Shaggy not feel so good. He doesn't think much of Pepe the Frog, but he acknowledges and respects him for being one of the founders of their sacred tradition. Mount Rushmeme was created in service to all the krispy memes that they have contributed to make the world what it was today.

Shaggy didn't know why he was suddenly reminiscing like this, it's not like he was going to die anytime soon. Maybe it was because he has yet to meet anyone that drove him beyond 10% power (besides his pal Rotten). Maybe it was because he missed the days of solving mysteries in the Mystery Shack with his old buddies Fred, Daphne, and Velma. Or maybe ...maybe he just wanted to stop fighting all together. Maybe he just wanted to settle down and get the relaxation he so nearly deserved with his pal Scoob. Even so, he looked forward to the monthly spars he endured with Rotten to hone his own skills, or so he liked to believe. With a smirk on his face and a glint in his eyes only serving to signify his intense need for battle, he prepared his stance. He glanced back at his canine companion:

"Hey Scoobs, like, might want to stand back for this one, man..."

Scooby simply nodded his head and paced backwards.

"So Rotten, we meet again after many years. How have you been?

Rotten only laughed with a slightly maniacal tone as he leaned back. Shaggy never truly understood why people did that. Was it to a sound strategy? Was it to be dramatic? He may never know honestly, but in a strange way, he was content with it.

"So, tell me Rotten, what tricks have you got up your sleeve this time? Shapeshifting? Memory Manipulation? Your plethora of "unique" gadgets? Negating conventional durability? Like, I must know, man!"

Shaggy made sure to sarcastically emphasize that last line to poke fun at the renowned trickster's abilities, and while Rotten would normally be angered beyond belief with his rival's quips, he strangely felt at peace seeing that his friend was still as energetic as ever, despite his current mental predicament. Rotten knew that Shaggy's desire to fight was slowly dwindling, and he felt pity for his friend. He remembered the many aggressive fights that the two of them shared in their early days. The sweat that would protrude from their foreheads and bodies whenever a spar of theirs would end. Rotten could recall their win-loss counts; Robbie has lost 57 times and won 51 times, according to himself anyway. Shaggy assures him not to pay attention to such minor details, but Rotten just can't help himself at times. With his mind back to his pal, he chuckled again and responded:

"Unfortunately no, my friend! After all, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. However, I believe that in order to make this battle more interesting, I won't hold back on any of my old trickery habits! And hold on, didn't you already know of my little trick with durability? I'm a bit disappointed Shaggy, I expected you to know more of me! Hehheheheh…. We are both about the same in combat prowess. In the end, it comes to our wits, our skills, what we do with our powers, and our ability to adapt. And this time, I will receive my 52nd win. What do you think about that, Shagster?"

Shaggy answered with a simple taunt

"Come closer and we'll see about that."

"It's over, Shaggy. My Stand [We Are Number One] is invincible!

"Zoinks! Is that so?"

With no more words to say, Shaggy Dio-walked over to Rotten powered up at 5%. Rotten got into his stance and faced his opponent as Shaggy stopped walking. The two gazed at each other once more before springing into action.

* * *

While the battle was going on, a collection of atoms suddenly materialized near the battleground. A man ...no, a creature, appeared in nothing but a dark brown rugged cloak, probably to conceal itself from being seen … or just to look edgy and mysterious. It spoke in a dark tone:

"Perfect, they're still fighting their idiotic spars as always. And that stupid mutt hasn't even noticed me as he's too busy worrying for his "Raggy" ...how I hate him."

The cloaked figure proceeded to flex its hands in a slight rise of anger but paused and calmed itself as it remembered what object it was holding. It quietly reassured itself:

"No, it's okay. It will all be over soon. This will be the answer to my problems ... for our problems."

The figure looked at the peculiar object in its hand and gazed at it for a few seconds. It was a strange looking item, akin to a comical ray gun blaster that you would see in those typical sci-fi cartoons. The barrel of the weapon looks like that of a Luna Blaster from Splatoon, but that is about the only resemblance the two weapons share. This peculiar object had a far more nefarious purpose to it than just being in a colorful E 10+ game where squid kids shoot their ink at each other…

"What a strange device this is… but no matter, it will do what it needs to do. With Shaggy out of the picture, this shithole excuse for a planet will maybe find prosperity, without the whims of the gods to control the ordinary man's every action and will. If it can stop the others, then …" The figure ceased talking to itself and simply waited patiently for its time to strike.

* * *

After a fierce battle of pure strength and wit, Shaggy and Robbie Rotten simply shook hands with each other and laughed.

"Heh, I gotta say, Shaggy ol pal, you still got some fight in you. I was sure I was gonna get my 52nd win today, but I guess a draw isn't all bad." Robbie spoke with playful enthusiasm. Shaggy chuckled in response.

"I still can't believe you actually keep track of the win count. Like, personally, I don't think it matters all that much. You are a good opponent, and you don't need a win count to determine your battle capabilities." There was a slight pause before Shaggy followed up with a more somber note.

"Besides, what truly matters is resting and taking a break from these stupid battles … a long break." Rotten raised his eyebrows at that retort.

It hasn't gotten any better with Shaggy. Every battle just leaves his friend with a deeper depression, and despite being a villain at heart, Rotten worries for him. It pains him to see a person sink deeper and deeper into a seemingly inescapable downward spiral of monotony. He briefly recalls in his mind of the first time he met Shaggy. At first, Rotten thought that he would have nothing but an insufferable god complex, thinking he was better than everyone else, especially with his recent surge of overwhelming popularity within the meme community. Sure, Rotten admitted that he was no stranger to such behavior, but that was mainly directed to the citizens of LazyTown and especially that nuisance, Sportacus. And even then, there were limits to such thoughts for him. However, he was surprised to find through many spars and hangout sessions that Shaggy was quite the opposite of his expectations. He seemed to have an "anti-god complex" of sorts. Shaggy certainly enjoyed the attention for a while, but he wanted to be known as more than just a popular meme. Unfortunately, that was all the majority of the "real world" seemed to take him as. Shaggy suddenly spoke up

"Wait, no, that's not what I meant-"

Robbie interrupted, "No it's okay. I know what you meant. You just want to rest, escape from the endless amounts of empty praise and dank admiration when all you want is respect. You were proud, but you want to be something more than just a meme that might be forgotten in a few months' time …. But Shaggy, you can't aspire to that if you continue to bend to what people think you want."

"But I-"

"Listen, Shaggy. It's time that you do what you want to do. It doesn't matter what the people think you want, because they are not you. You are your own person; you make your own fate. You have already proven yourself time after time that you are strong battle wise. You can knock out countless opponents without even surpassing 1% power. That alone is a feat not many can claim they have accomplished. You make it look so easy, but you are rather humble of your skills, which gives off even more admiration than you already deserve. However, what I find to be true strength is the ability to know when to hold back and conserve your energy, to combine your mind, spirit, and heart, and most importantly, to let yourself be your own you without the influence, request, or pressure of others. You know, I'm going to let you in on a little secret …. I'm actually retiring in a few days."

That last line made Shaggy's eyes widen ever so slightly, but he kept silent, not wanting to interrupt Rotten in his rare moments of profound sincerity.

"Yeah, I know. Hard to believe, right? But I ain't getting any younger. It's about time I get lazy again, after all, I am from LazyTown, heh." Robbie paused for what seemed like hours, and Shaggy could only help to notice his friend's facial expression at this point. He was in a pensive state, carefully thinking on what to say next. Then, he spoke:

"Listen Shaggy, I'm not telling you what to do. But maybe it's time to start thinking about your future. For so long, you have done everything just to please your fans. While it is very admirable, if you continue to push away your own needs, it will prove to be unhealthier than being lazy ever could. For once more, be selfish and think about yourself. The last thing I want is to see you drive yourself into insanity, my friend."

Those words truly hit close to heart for Shaggy. He truly felt lucky to have Robbie as a friend, as besides his lifetime pal Scoob, he didn't really have anyone else to talk to, at least not concerning such crucial matters as this. It's not often that he gets to unwind and just talk things out. He's always in action, because that's what the fans want. With countless victories against seemingly unfathomable and indestructible forces, he felt as if he should have grown arrogant, wanting more and more and being in line with Rotten's initial expectations. With so many people constantly creating more media attention for him, with comics, animated collabs, and exaggerated tales of glory and "OP-ness", he should be soaking in it with extreme egotism. So why did he feel so empty? Regardless, he is still grateful for his friend's words. Maybe this was the wake-up call he so desperately needed?

"Come on, let's get going before the storm hits. I want to see if we can still go to that ice-cream parlor that sells cones about this hi-WATCH YOURSELF!"

That was all Shaggy heard before he was pushed to the ground. He looked over to the source of sudden laughter as his eyes caught sight of the figure that had been waiting for the right moment to reveal itself. All Shaggy could do was groan at the realization of who this creature turned out to be under its cloak. His name was simply BDC, and he was nothing but a big dodongo crack box. Shaggy never knew what those three initials stood for, but considering this cretin's reputation, he didn't feel an aching desire to know. He had a relatively tall stature, almost as tall as Shaggy, though the slight hunch made it a bit hard to truly decipher. His eyes were constantly twitching and bloodshot, looking in dire need of some eye drops. He constantly looks as if he sniffed a bunch of Flex Glue, and his breath reeked of laundry detergent, probably because his typical diet consisted of nothing but Tide Pods. Shaggy felt disgusted just by looking at his unnerving appearance, and he didn't even want to dwell on BDC's lack of pants. He turned around to check on his friend, but as soon as his eyes reached their intended destination, he wished he hadn't. Shaggy could only look in horror as Rotten's body movements became spastic in what he could only describe as when Sonic the Hedgehog got the Chaos Emeralds sucked out of him in Sonic Unleashed, only it looked far worse. Rotten was already infected by BDC's new weapon, and the effects were beginning to take hold. His body became pale and the life in his eyes began to dull. The only thing Shaggy could hear was Scooby's barking as he stood there unable to move and assist his friend in any way he could. Shaggy was lost in his thoughts: Why wasn't he moving? It's not like BDC hit him, so why couldn't he move? Why was he just standing there? He wanted to help his friend, but the effects were already weakening Rotten at an alarmingly fast rate. What could he do?

Then, Rotten simply collapsed onto the ground below him, barely moving or breathing. Shaggy was finally in control of his body after the shock wore off and slowly turned towards BDC as he spoke softly:

"What did you do to him? …. W-what did you-"

Shaggy stopped himself, only to find Scooby in BDC's initial position, where only a small collection of atoms floats by as the brown canine attempts to sniff out BDC's whereabouts. That cowardly bitch escaped before he could even utter another word. Rotten's violent coughing knocked Shaggy out of his thoughts as he ran towards his fatally weakened friend.

"Rotten, hang on. Scoobs and I will get you to safety! Like, we're gonna patch you up and you'll be good as new in no time! SCOOBS, get over here, man! We gotta hu-"

Before Shaggy could continue with his panicked ramblings any further, Rotten stopped him and spoke weakly:

"Shaggy, no …. It's too late. I-I can already feel my body deteriorating …. I have lost all feeling in my limbs; my organs have failed …. *ACK**ACKGH* …. I'm done for …. I know what you're thinking now …. Please …. Don't fight him by yourself …. This power …. That weapon is too great to face alone. It seems to have the ability to m-manipulate its energy, hiding it from detection u-until it's close to its target …. G-get some help-*BLACGK* …. I'm begging ya …."

This was it. Rotten was dying, and Shaggy knew it. There was nothing he could do but just listen to his last request. Before he was rendered unable to breathe, Rotten said his last words to Shaggy:

"Shaggy...my friend...do me a favor... there isn't much time for me…" Rotten continues to cough blood out and all Shaggy can do is watch as his lazy friend slowly dies. All he could do was watch ….

"Look at this net...that I just found...be sure to throw it at him when you find that son of a bitch. Throw in some banana peels...so he could slip 'n slide...heheh...those were good times with my boys...I wonder how they are doing...probably playing some sport with Sportaflop...heh...those lovable idiots...Shaggy, be sure to get him with some trickery...make it go down in history...you...and...me...we are...number...One!"

**(AN: For an interesting experience, try reading this next part while listening to the track, "To Die For" from The Lion King OST, specifically at the 3:19 part. It is recommended if you want goosebumps, but isn't necessary)**

With his last breath, Rotten ceased to exist and simply laid there. Shaggy was simply at a loss and Scooby could be heard howling from a few meters away. At this point, raindrops started to fall upon the mountains as a result of the storm, and soon enough, Shaggy was completely soaked, but he didn't care. Shaggy just sat there motionless. His best friend was gone, the second closest person to him besides his ol' pal Scoobs. The only other person he could disclose his personal strifes with. The only other friend that was willing to listen and comfort him when needed. The only other comrade that felt like a brother to him. The only other sparring partner to drive him to be the very best. The only other opponent that managed to get Shaggy over 10% power. Gone. Shaggy honestly felt like crying, but he found he couldn't shed a single tear for his fallen pal. All he could feel was a boiling anger attempting to break free from his closed pot of sealed emotions. He slowly stood up and spoke in a low dark tone:

"This can go two ways, punk! One, you-actually no. This can only go one way! I won't let you simply walk away…."

Then he wailed in pure unyielding rage

**"I WILL WALK ON YOUR FACE, YOU HUBBA BUBBA, FRUIT BY THE FOOT, SLIMY MAGGOT! THIS!IS!NOT!YOUR!CHOICE!"**

The storm suddenly grew more violent as Shaggy surged to over 15% power, something that he doesn't like to resort to even when fighting his toughest opponents. BDC was the only thing on his mind now, or at the very least, the thought of his corpse sprawled about the floors of Gamelon. He once thought of BDC as nothing more than a nuisance, a simple-minded villain with petty motivations rivaling that of Tohru Adachi from Persona 4. But now, BDC's life was on the line, and Shaggy couldn't think of anything more satisfying than having the cretin's remains scattered all over after he's done with him. He looked over to Scooby-Doo below him and noticed his frightened state. Not wanting to scare his canine bestie any longer, he powered down and dispelled his murderous contemplations for now. After calming down, he picked up Rotten's body and gestured to Scooby:

"Let's go Scoob…"

Shaggy flew upwards with Scooby not far behind.

"R-right, Raggy!"

* * *

From a neighboring mountaintop, all that was seen were two silhouettes. One looked like a boy wearing some sort of rooster outfit and the other seemed to be a small, winged, pudding-like creature floating in the air with a close resemblance to fairies, though for some reason it looked as if it was wearing an apple on its head. The rooster boy jumped off elsewhere, while the flying creature stuck by for a moment. It uttered one sentence:

"And so, it begins again …. From one star to the next, it's always the same."

Then it proceeded to fly in the direction to wherever the boy departed off to.

**To be continued**

_**AN: Thank you for reading up until this point! I plan to update with more chapters as time goes on, but for now, I bid you farewell. Catch you on the flipside and get those five points!**_


End file.
